Suddenly overwhelmed, Ireland says thousands of COVID-19 cases have yet to be added to the tally

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland on Friday said it had underreported coronavirus cases in recent days by thousands more than before as its system was under strain, suggesting the outbreak has the fastest growing in the EU is getting worse even faster than the numbers show.

More than 9,000 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 have yet to be added to the official tally of confirmed cases, the national public health emergency team said. A day earlier, he had estimated the number of positive tests still pending registration at only 4,000.

Ireland has gone from the lowest infection rate in the European Union just two weeks ago to the fastest rate of deterioration, after stores and much of the hospitality industry shrank been allowed to reopen for most of December.

A very large number of positive tests since Christmas has resulted in a delay in formally confirming positive swabs as new individual cases. Ireland officially reported a daily record of 1,754 confirmed cases on Friday, surpassing 1,500 daily cases for the fourth day in a row.